Translating Ethical Frameworks Into User-Centred Anti-Social Behaviour Interventions

TL;DR

This paper introduces a human-computer interaction approach to anti-social behaviour interventions by embedding ethical frameworks into digital tools, aiming to enhance community responsibility and reduce ASB cases.

Contribution

It presents a novel integration of ethical principles into digital intervention designs for ASB, combining public opinion insights with technological solutions.

Findings

Positive evaluation of the ethical framework and QR interfaces.

Digital interventions can complement punitive measures without replacing them.

Methodology involved structured interviews and online surveys.

Abstract

In 2025 one million Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) cases were recorded in England & Wales, impacting community cohesion. Statutory guidance presents punitive interventions that lack technological input and does not often root ethical frameworks within government system design. This work takes a novel approach in framing ASB intervention as a human-computer interaction problem by embedding an ethical framework into two digital designs, aiming to increase public responsibility and prevent ASB. The first design is extracted from UK public opinion research, the ethical themes include punitive proportionality, personalisation, and responsibility. The second are digital interventions that present a set of QR-based public reporting interfaces and a web-based ASB awareness course that precedes punitive escalation. Our methodology involves structured interviews and online surveys. Results positively evaluated the framework and QR interfaces. Such outcomes could inform the expansion of technological intervention utilisation that does not replace existing punitive approaches, but balances them.